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Cornered
|next = }} "Cornered" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the thirty-ninth episode altogether. Teaser Reminiscent of the teaser of "Bullet Points," Cartel thugs (including Gaff) ambush a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerated truck. This time they pump it full of exhaust gases. After the two armed guards travelling inside the shipment die from carbon monoxide poisoning, the thugs enter the trailer—but take only a single marked container of fry batter. Summary Skyler White repeatedly listens to Walter White's message while reading up on Gale Boetticher and finally reads between the message's lines correctly. She asks Walt several questions concerning Gale's murder and the people he works for. She asks if he's safe. Walt dodges these questions. Skyler theorizes that Walt is scared and that some part of him wants Hank to catch him. Walt (& his pride again) rejects these theories. Walt talks about how the whole drug enterprise would fall if he didn't show up for work. He claims "I'm not in danger. I am the danger!"..."I don't open the door (to a bullet) I do the knocking." Skyler doesn't respond, but is clearly shocked, even appalled and concerned at who Walt is turning into - she looks at him as if he's a stranger. After Walt finishes showering, he comes out voicing a reassuring apology, only to realize mid-sentence that Skyler, Holly and her car are gone. Walt goes to the car wash alone to obtain the files and keys. Bogdan Wolynetz talks about how bosses have to be tough and is not sure if Walt is ready for that. He insultingly recommends that if he's not tough enough, he should call his wife. Bogdan reminds Walt that the place is sold "as it is." When he then wants to take back the first dollar he made (hanging in a frame on the wall), Walt responds with "as is", and with a wry smile insists he leave it behind. Bogdan storm off in a huff. He then uses Bogdan's first dollar to buy a can of soda, relishing the moment. Mike Ehrmantraut and Jesse Pinkman sit in a diner, Mike eating dinner and Jesse drinking coffee. Noticing Jesse's shaking hands, Mike asks if he's okay. Jesse indirectly tells him he is in withdrawal by telling him he "isn't using," which concerns Mike so he offers his dinner to Jesse. Shortly after, Mike receives a phone call, leaves some money and leaves to attend to whatever. Jesse offers to go along but Mike leaves him behind. Walt and Walter White Jr. are eating breakfast. They talk and Walter Jr. assumes how Skyler is angry at Walt due to his 'gambling addiction.' Walt says she has a right to be mad. Walt Jr. tries to excuse his father's actions as equal to an illness, but Walt angrily counters that it was all down to "choice" and he owns it. On the way to school, after an argument, Walt decides to take a detour and buy a car for Walt Jr. At first he accuses Walt of attempting to "buy him off" but soon lights up when Walt buys him his dream car, a 2009 Dodge Challenger. Jesse and Walt meet outside the superlab and Walt asks about the 'Mike meetings.' Jesse replies that he's guarding him on pickups. To Walt none of this 'guarding Mike' makes any sense. Jesse meanwhile is energised by what he did, telling Walt that maybe he's not "just a loser" after all. Walt then theorizes that the robbery was probably a setup - which Jesse refuses to even contemplate, let alone believe, angry that Walt is belittling him again. Walt tries to get Jesse to understand : Gustavo Fring can't kill Jesse because Walt won't stand for it. Gus needs Walt and he hates that, so he's trying to drive a wedge between Jesse and Walt. But when Walt ends with : "This whole thing is about me" - Jesse can't take any more, both angry and disappointed, he stalks off to go cook. Halfway through cooking, Jesse receives a phone call and leaves go out with Mike again. Walt is incensed to again be left to clean up by himself. In defiance he goes straight upstairs and asks three Spanish-speaking women working in the laundromat for help cleaning the lab. They refuse to go downstairs, seemingly afraid to, until Walt offers them more money for 2 hours work than they're used to. Walt sits back and raises his coffee cup to the surveillance camera with a knowing smile, while the women scrub the lab equipment. Skyler drives to the Four Corners landmark and exasperated flips a coin. It lands in Colorado. She frowns, flips again, and again it lands in Colorado. Skyler, using her foot, drags the coin from the Colorado square to New Mexico. She looks at Holly, picks up the coin and gets back in the car. Jesse and Mike drive up to a house. Three guys inside are selling three pounds of blue meth that they didn't get from Gus. Mike advises that they should stake out the place until someone leaves, but Jesse, impatient as always, decides to play the junkie act and infiltrate the house. After getting the door slammed in his face, Mike taunts him with a "back to Plan-A then?" as Jesse gets back in the car. Jesse, however, insists Mike might know 'stake-outs' but he knows 'junkies', so he gets back out of the car and takes a shovel out of the trunk. Jesse starts digging a hole in the front yard of the house. One junkie approaches him as Mike watches from the car. The junkie asks why he's digging and Jesse replies "You know why." Jesse asks "How deep do you think it is?" The junkie replies "Pretty deep." Then Jesse hands the shovel to the junkie and asks him to take over the digging. He also asks if he can use their bathroom and the tweaker agrees, digging away anxiously. Inside, there's another junkie all the worse for wear, gripping a shotgun over his shoulders. After pretending to wanting to buy some blue meth and getting rejected, Jesse keeps pushing it and the tweaking paranoid junkie aggressively points the gun at Jesse. After the junkie is distracted by the noise of Mike coming to check, Jesse knocks the tweaker out with a nearby bong. Mike finds and picks up the stolen Los Pollos Hermanos fry batter bucket; words in Spanish are written on the lid in big black letters - which translates roughly to : "Are you ready to talk?" ... Obviously a message for Gus and company. Walt walks out of the superlab with the three Spanish-speaking women. Tyrus Kitt approaches them and takes the women away. He's sending them on a bus back to Honduras (if not having them shot ??) - After Walt asks him to have Gus blame him instead and not the women, Tyrus replies "He does blame you." Mike and Jesse again eat at a diner. Gus walks in and sits at the booth. Jesse knows he has to wait outside. Mike informs Gus that the whole truck robbery was about sending a message, the one on the bucket. Mike recommends that he get 10 or 15 good operators and retaliate immediately. But Gus dismisses this and wants to set up a meeting. Before leaving he asks Mike how Jesse did that day. As he leaves, he tells Jesse outside that he heard that he can handle himself. Jesse asks Gus "Why me?" Gus responds with "I like to think I can see things in people." Jesse doesn't quite know what to make of it but seems somewhat buoyed nevertheless. Skyler drives into the driveway and is unimpressed to see the new car Walt bought for their son. Walt Jr. tries to convince his mom that the car is safe and promises he'll drive it safely. Walt, seeing Skyler silently seething, tries to apologize and says that everything he does, he does for his family. Skyler chides Walt about the new car and how it's a stupid idea that directly contradicts the story they're supposed to be following. She wants it sent back the next day. Walt attempts the sly angle that if he does so he worries Walt Jr. will only blame her for taking away the car. Skyler's well aware she'll be blamed the "bitch mom" again and 'thanks' Walt for once again placing her in that position. When Walt insists he only wished to do something nice for his son and provide as a father should; and again that he's only protecting the family. Skyler insist that if his reckless buying of an expensive car is his idea of protecting their son and the family, then she'd have to step up - "Someone has to protect this family from the man that protects this family." She picks up Holly White and takes her to her room, slamming the door behind her, leaving Walt sullen and speechless ... as the screen fades to black. Credits Main Cast *Bryan Cranston as Walter White *Anna Gunn as Skyler White *Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman *Dean Norris as Hank Schrader (credit only) *Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader (credit only) *RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr. *Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman (credit only) *Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring *Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut Supporting Cast *Maurice Compte as Gaff *Damon Herriman as Scary Skell *Blake Berris as Tucker *Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt *Marius Stan as Bogdan Wolynetz *Jason Hill as Truck Guard #1 *Henry Herman as Truck Guard #2 *Luis Pimber as Cartel Henchman *Celia Holguin Anaya as Ilia *Maria L. Pardo as Maria *Veronica Jaquez as Veronica Trivia *When Jesse tries to enter the house, he uses the name "Diesel," which is the same name he used last time he was trying to recover stolen meth from junkies in "Peekaboo". *The episode title name may refer to Skyler cornering Walt with several questions. **Also Walt is cornered into giving back the car. **The title could also refer to Skyler's visit to the Four Corners landmark. *There is a continuity error in this episode. In the very beginning of the episode, when the Cartel thugs are opening the back of the Pollos Hermanos truck to retrieve the container, the angle at which the truck is parked changes between shots. When the camera shoots from inside the truck, the truck is parked at a 45 degree angle to the road, but in outside shots, the truck is parked parallel to the road. *This is the second episode that doesn't use the word "shit". Featured Music *'"(I Can't Believe) She Gives it all to Me"' by Conway Twitty (in the diner where Mike & Jesse eat at the start of the episode) *'"'Till I'm Gone"' by Tinie Tempah (feat. Wiz Khalifa) (playing in Walt Jr's Challenger as he arrives back at the White residence) *'"Four Corners / Waiting for the End"' by Dave Porter (as Skyler & Holly visit Four Corners) *'"Here Lies A Good Old Boy"' by James Hand (in the diner where Gus meets Mike & Jesse) es:Cornered Category:Breaking Bad episodes Category:Season 4 episodes